Do you WANT longer school days and shorter school holidays?

[shadowlily]

YABU- yes I want schools to have longer school days and shorter holidays

YANBU- no I'd rather keep the hours/terms we have.

I keep seeing this is being discussed in the media today, do you think it's likely to happen? Personally I think kids would benefit more from the summer holiday and being able to catch up on the activities they've missed and socialisation with friends. They've been home schooled to keep up with the curriculum (for the most part! I know this might be a contentious statement for some!) but nothing has replaced the play dates, day trips, parties etc. they have missed.

What do you think?

I do not subscribe to the theory theory that the government know best nor that the unions or teachers are obstructive but I do feel that mov U.K. by towards a different five term year is on the best interest of children.

If there is such a problem with the long summer holiday and a big drop in learning when they return, why are private school holidays longer?

@SoupDragon

If there is such a problem with the long summer holiday and a big drop in learning when they return, why are private school holidays longer?

Private school days are longer already. They have smaller classes, generally a high ability intake, generally a more motivated parent base and the school doesn't want the children failing as they loose money. Abs they need to go to their second home 😉

Private school days are longer already

We live next door to a girl that goes to the local private school. They leave the house when we do and get home when we do-the hours are identical.

Us4MPs need to get on the case of MPs with their massive summer recess.

It's not good for them to be missing so much parliament, they might forget their policies.

I just wish the summer holidays were fixed so they didn’t start running into seven weeks off.
There should be more flexibility for local authorities to set holidays so they aren’t the same across the country, helping with holidays a bit (I know some half terms are different and it does help with days out and how busy things are).

Every school governing body is allowed to set its own term dates, they don't need to stick to LA dates at all.

Yanbu. Longer school days is a stupid idea from a stupid government completely out of touch and obsessed with the idea that parents can’t be trusted to look after their own children.

A huge amount of what children do in school is busy work, that can be skipped without causing any problems. Topics can be compressed. The curriculum is ridiculously out of date anyway, they should be taking this opportunity to rewrite and compress it, not extend hours to fit the whole stupid thing in.

What is essential is play and socialisation. My child has spent six months out of the last twelve with almost zero child contact. She needs play, not extra grammar lessons.

I’m also unclear who would teach a longer school day. State school teachers look absolutely shattered by 3pm. Perhaps it’s different at private schools with their longer holidays and smaller class sizes, I don’t know. But if State school teachers were asked to do another couple of hours a day there would be an awful lot of tv watched in those classrooms - which actually there already is 🙊

I really don’t think this idea will ever come to fruition-most parents just don’t seem to want the same thing to change to, so I fully expect things will remain exactly as they are. Individual schools have some flexibility to use inset days his they want and to tweak their own holidays.

If the government wanted to invest properly in schools to make a real difference, the focus would be smaller class sizes or more staff, but those cost money. Far better to repeat a few fantasy phrases about summer holidays and long days which appeals to those wanting childcare, but very few others, then not actually doing it. That’s free!

I don’t want longer school days. Especially for the younger ones, mine were asleep by 4 most days for the first 2/3 years.

But more even school holidays (not shorter) would be in favour of.

However I know rejigging terms and school times is something that’s been floated for childcare.

I think that the school days are long enough already, and holidays are much needed by children and staff. What is needed is good quality childcare during the holidays, when I was a child our local park used to have playleaders and sports equipment, something similar would be great, but education staff can't be expected to do it, it needs proper funding and staffing.
The curriculum should be simplified and pressures reduced.
I also think that schools are being expected to cure all of society's ills, until we sort those ills in society first, education will suffer. It all needs money though.

...to set holidays so they aren’t the same across the country, helping with holidays a bit (I know some half terms are different and it does help with days out and how busy things are).

It doesn't help if you have children at schools in different areas.

Basically, there is no solution that will be good for everyone, or possibly even good for the majority.

The idea of using the school’s infrastructure for these extra hours seems to assume that the use of the school building and facilities would be free, the only cost being the staff who lead the activities.
Not only does it involve the heat and light and knock on effects of cleaners and caretaker costs, but also, if the building was built under PFI, BSF and similar initiatives, the building management (private firms) charge considerable amounts per extra hour of use. Even the school has to pay for time over their allotted allowance (which usually includes a certain number and length of parents evenings, training days and time for cleaning) I have known of school governors being locked in the school because their meeting over ran - and being charged handsomely to be let out!

If this were to happen I would really worry about the impact on my own child. I went on maternity leave in November but prior to this I was physically in school from 7.30am until 5.30-6pm everyday (except Fridays when I would leave at 4.30). I also worked at least 10am until 4pm the vast majority of Sundays. Despite this...I was still never ‘in control of my workload’. You get one task done and another three have appeared. I’ve had to find a nursery that is open 6.30-6.30 and it is already breaking my heart to think how much time my then 11 month old is going to spend in someone else’s care. This is before any longer days are discussed.

I wouldn’t be against longer days and teaching more hours (currently in lessons 8.30-3/4, depending on the day). However, expectations of other things such as marking, paperwork, planning would have to be reduced as these all take a lot of time. The vast majority of teachers don’t just work 9-3!

SoupDragon oh I hate different holiday dates. It means you can't actually do things like get together with family or go to half term events because they are on the 'wrong' week.
A local Secondary school near me has a two week October half term. None of the other schools do. I know quite a few people whose older kids are at the secondary but younger kids at primary - which has the normal one week. So essentially you get one week of actual half term and one week of the older kids hanging around being bored because all half term activities have finished, parents can't take them on holiday or to visit relatives because they would have to take the younger children out of school. It's such a waste of a week.

to set holidays so they aren’t the same across the country, helping with holidays a bit (I know some half terms are different and it does help with days out and how busy things are)

My children are at schools in different LEAs-as are loads of kids round here because of straddling a border. This would make it very difficult to have a family holiday as even if the dates overlapped, DH would still have to be able to get those weeks off from work, which every other parent would be trying to get as well!

Childcare/doing anything with the kids would become a nightmare for parents who wouldn’t just have 4 weeks to cover, but more, but all at different times across the summer and would be doing fun stuff with one child whilst the others had to go to school.

YANBU, school can bugger off over the summer. I'm desperate for DD1 to have the freedom of the "long summer after GCSEs". DD2 is in Y7 and there is plenty of time to catch up. What she needs is school to be normal school asap, with all the fun elements and balance restored having been robbed of the school journey, party and school production in Y6 and any kind of smooth transition to year 7, which has instead been extremely stressful and anxiety-ridden.

I wouldn't mind a slightly longer school day if it means no homework. But I can see those pigs flying now.

I would like Saturday morning school which could be catch up plus games and fun stuff.

Also 2 weeks in summer holidays activity camp free for all which could include soft subjects; drama, art, music, maybe coding club and so on as the curriculum is so goddamn boring as it is.

I don't want longer days. In the winter, she's walking home at dusk down a horrid dark pathway without vehicle access.
Shit enough in daylight, let alone after 5pm. Druggies, alkys etc.
Maybe spread the holidays a bit more. Tag 1 week onto the half term weeks (not the crappy February one) to shrink the summer holidays.
But this would knock-on by reducing the time working parents can choose their summer 2 weeks. Especially if all staff have school aged kids.

I think they should leave it all alone. I don’t think that young kids would cope well with longer days and terms. Secondary age kids might manage, but it’ll worsen their quality of life. After this year I just want my kids to be happy. If they are slightly behind academically then so be it. There’s more to life.

Spreading the holidays would reduce learning time for years 11, 12 and 13.
They would miss out on 150 learning hours (6 weeks) per child.

They finish their year in June, so would not benefit from 2 extra teaching weeks in the summer, but would lose out from further lost weeks in the winter. You could not change it for everyone except these year groups, as then teachers would have to work additional weeks at additional cost to the tax payer.

Personally I would like a 4 week summer holiday and slightly longer days.

@Findahouse21

I think they should start again with the school arrangements. 6 terms of equal length, seperated by 1-2 weeks of holiday. Work out what teachers are paid now and then change it to reflect that it's a full time job.

And stagger the holidays so that you do away with the vast gulf between peak and off-peak travel costs.

School days longer? Not if it's just more time with noses to the grindstone. Extra time for sport/arts/life lessons could be beneficial though.

@MissBPotter

No definitely not. There’s a good reason that schools in most countries that I know of have summers off. To enjoy them with family and friends first off and secondly, schools are not at all well designed for hot days. I’ve never worked at a school with air con and many windows barely open. Often there are no blinds, or insufficient blinds/curtains and often uniforms (esp secondary) are hot and stuffy. Teaching in a boiling hot room with minimal ventilation with sweaty kids who are likely sunburnt as well, is not much fun, for them or us! There is nothing enjoyable about being at school in the summer.

I also like having other festivals like Easter and Christmas off personally.

But the summer is not usually that hot in August. June is the best time of the year.